If it was someone else's gamble, there would be every reason for wonder and ridicule.

But this is Alex Anthopoulos' first foray into hiring a major-league manager for the Blue Jays and because of that, you know that little has been left for chance.

He thinks things over and then he thinks them again. And when he finishes, he questions himself and then asks some more questions, just to be certain.

So if you're like I am - initially underwhelmed at the selection of John Farrell to manage the Jays - don't be.

Trust Anthopoulos to have done his due diligence here. Trust him that he scoured the list of those available, shortened it, asked the right questions and then made his determination.

It isn't often pitching coaches get chosen to be managers. It isn't often managers are hired to learn on the job. This isn't necesssarily conventional in any way.

But Paul Beeston signed off on it and Anthopoulos and his senior advisors made the selection.

For now, we'll give them them the benefit of the doubt. This is his gamble, his reputation on the line.

Clearly, Farrell, is a respected baseball man.

But his managing, much like the team he takes over, will be a work in progress.

This and that

Don't know what more Brian Butterfield could have done to get the Blue Jays' attention and be chosen as the next manager. If the Jays wind up losing Butterfield to the Orioles or another big-league team, they will not just be losing a quality coach, they'll be losing an even better person ... Now that they've lost, been humiliated, and looked old, expect the Yankees to go hard after Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford in free agency ... One problem Ron Wilson might have with his first line of Tyler Bozak, Phil Kessel and Kris Versteeg. Their shifts are too long. Heading into Saturday night's game, the three were in the Top 9 in length of shift in NHL, behind stars such as Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin ... Steven Stamkos jumped to 51 goals from the 23 he scored his rookie season. Now he looks ready to take another jump, maybe to 60 ... The NHL wimped out with the six-game suspension for Rick Rypien. The number should have started at 10 ... In every NHL game there are six or seven hits that would get you suspended in minor hockey: It's hard for kids who watch the NHL to understand what they can and cannot do in their own games ... Wonder why Doug MacLean is forever talking about players he drafted: If my draft record was as spotty as his, I'd keep quiet about it.

Hear and there

Admit it - don't you wish George Steinbrenner was still alive and well. Just this one time: Just to hear what he'd be saying now? ... Don't know what I like best about the Texas Rangers. Their small payroll? The fact they were all-but bankrupt when the season began? The Josh Hamilton comeback story? That they didn't fire manager Ron Washington, when just about every team in baseball would have? Elvis Andrus? Crowd shots of Nolan Ryan? Or the notion they've never been this far before? ... John Gibbons, who mumbles funny baseball stories better than anyone I know, has withdrawn his name from the candidates list of the Pittsburgh Pirates to remain the bench coach of the Kansas City Royals. Guess losing is K.C. is preferable to losing in Pittsburgh ... Yes, Phil Jackson has won 11 NBA championships, but he had Michael Jordan for six of them in Chicago, Kobe Bryant for the past five. What makes a great coach, Harry Neale was once asked? His answer: "Great players." ... It's all but certain the Buffalo Bills will be 0-7 when they play the Chicago Bears at Rogers Centre next month. But the Bills, it says here, will have two chances to win games this season, with home games late against Detroit and Cleveland.

Scene and heard

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Jenn Sterger will not cooperate with the NFL sexting investigation of Brett Favre so long as she he is compensated by Favre. We didn't know what Ms. Sterger was before - but once she names her price, we do ... NFL coaches living with expired best-before dates: Wade Phillips, Norv Turner, John Fox, Eric Mangini ... Sad as it might be, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers won more games with crazy Mike Kelly in charge than they have for Paul LaPolice ... Election day is Monday, and the ex-ref Andy van Hellemond, who once ran from office, is now running for office on Guelph City Council. Other sporting names abound: ex-ref Bryan Lewis is up for re-election in Halton and the terrific hockey instructor, Dusan Kralik, is running in Ward 23 in Toronto not far from Jennifer Hedger's hubby, Sean McCormick, who is trying to get elected in Ward 19 ... Stat of the week: Zach Stortini played two shifts and 58 seconds for the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild and ended up minus a minus-2.

And another thing

It was amazing enough that Jose Bautista came almost out of nowhere to hit 54 home runs. It seems even more amazing now that he got to 54 playing the final four months of the season with a sports hernia. Whatever drugs he was on, I want some ... Cam Newton, not the Cam Newton who played goal for the Marlies in the '60s, is the most exciting quarterback in U.S. college football ... Joe Paterno may have a point when he suggests that removal of the full facemask in football would cut down on the growing number of head shots. "We used to have a single bar (on the helmet)," said Paterno. "Now we have a weapon." ... ... Veteran Dallas columnist, Randy Galloway, wrote that comparing the Dallas Cowboy to "gutless pigs" is unfair to pigs everywhere ... Tough week for us television-watching children of the '50s and '60s: First June Cleaver from Leave it to Beaver passes away, then Mr. C from Happy Days ... Happy Birthday to Jonas Gustavsson (26), Jim Peplinski (50), Harold Snepsts (56), Wayne Rooney (25), Jay Novacek (48), Clarke Wilm (34) and Ron Gardenhire (53). And hey, whatever became of Kurt Walker?

Canucks goalie dillemma

The Vancouver goaltending situation is somewhat reminiscent of the Maple Leafs of the early '90s, without the obvious and apparent salary-cap implications. The Leafs had Grant Fuhr and the emerging Felix Potvin in goal and it was clear that Potvin was more suited for the full-time work. Could the same thing be happening with the Canucks, where Roberto Luongo has been spotty to start the season but rookie Cory Schneider has been solid and impressive? The Canucks seem to play better for Schneider than they do for Luongo, which could cause problems. While the Leafs were able to trade Fuhr for Dave Andreychuk in the pre-huge-money-salary-cap era, it wouldn't be so easy to move Luongo's massive contract if the Canucks were so inclined.

NBA's whacky economics has to stop

Exactly how can anyone justify paying Rashard Lewis $20 million to play for the Orlando Magic? Does he sell tickets? Has he increased franchise value? Has he made money for the NBA? Lewis just happens to be one of a long list of wildly overpaid NBA players at a time when the league is clearly in financial crisis. Commissioner David Stern, normally an optimist, said the league will lose between $340-$350 million this season. He said he wants to reduce player salaries between $700-$800 million. He has talked about contraction, hinted about the possibility of lockout, and clearly said a new financial deal is necessary. Any deal must start with financial restraint from GMs and owners. You can't pay the Rashard Lewises and the Zack Randolphs and yes, the Marcus Banks, the kind of money they've been getting. The NBA has been out of control for too long: Time for some common sense to kick in.

A list-a-holics dream

The NFL Network is counting down its list of the Top 100 players in NFL history. All that remains are the Top 20, which will be revealed over the next two weeks (You can pencil in Jim Brown at No. 1). Like most imperfect lists of this nature, perfectly fine arguments ensue. In the 20-30 spots in the rankings, for example, quarterback Tom Brady came in at No. 20, followed by John Elway at 23 and Dan Marino at 25. If those three ratings alone aren't fodder for a sound discussion - personally I would have ranked Elway ahead of Brady because of his athletic ability - I don't know what is. As a longtime list-a-holic, I curiously await to see where Johnny Unitas, Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Joe Montana get slotted, not to forget Lawrence Taylor or Dick Butkus or Deacon Jones or Reggie White.

Other Stories

Sarah Wells raced to the finish line at
York University, waved to the crowd,
smiled widely, grabbed a Canadian flag,
finished her celebratory silver-medal
lap — quite possibly the most memorable
achievement of her athletic life — and
it was then she bent over and threw up.